History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado, Part 41

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn; Vickers, W. B. (William B.), 1838-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 844

USA > Colorado > Arapahoe County > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 41
USA > Colorado > Denver County > Denver > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 41

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cal education. Her voice developed with her growth into a pure soprano, remarkable for its fullness and richness of tone, which, together with her vivacity, cheerfulness and accommodating dis- position, made her a favorite in the family and social circles, wherever her lot has been cast. Her musical talent has descended to her children, all of whoni have good voices, and, when quite young, readily learned to sing. The Brinker family are well known in the choral union and church choirs of Denver. Mrs. Brinker's early moral and relig- ious training, together with her experience in raising a large family of her own, and her success as Matron of Henry M. & F. College-her own Alma Mater-eminently qualify her for the posi- tion she now occupies as Matron of Brinker Col- legiate Institute. After their marriage, Joseph and Lizzie Brinker settled in their new home, one mile from Newcastle, where they led a quiet and happy life for nearly eighteen years, devoting themselves to farm life, and the care of their increasing family, with nothing to mar their happiness save the sud- den death, by accidental burning, of their eldest daughter, Mattie-a beautiful child, three and a half years old. Misfortune finally came in the form of financial disaster, occasioned by the vicis- situdes of the civil war, and the depreciation of values, and an assignment was made conveying the title of the entire estate to the creditors. Now began a new life for this couple-with no means, a large family, and Mr. Brinker's health impaired, the future was certainly dark enough, but Mrs. Brinker, with her philosophic resignation and char- acteristic energy, declared that she could teach, and, without delay, the property of Henry Female College was purchased on credit, and a school for males and females, with a boarding department, was opened October 7, 1872, under Mrs. Brinker's immediate supervision, while Mr. Briuker found a position as cashier of the Bank of Newcastle. Thirty-five pupils and one boarder were enrolled the first term, and the second closed with fifty pupils and three boarders. The next fall, both the school and boarding department increased so as to

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require Mr. Brinker's entire time, whereupon he tendered his resignation as cashier, and devoted himself to the school, which continued to grow year by year until their removal to Denver in July, 1877, during which time the property had been paid for; the boarding department increased to twenty-five and the matriculate list to 150 annually -the last season closing amidst great prosperity.

Mr. Brinker's failing health determined him to try a change of climate, and he accordingly, in the fall of 1876, visited Western Texas, and then came to Denver. Having received great benefit within a few weeks, he wrote to his family asking if they would be willing to sacrifice their present prosper- ity, with the prospect of a doubtful support in Denver, for his sake. With characteristic self- denial, the answer came promptly from . Mrs. Brinker and the sons, Yes ! He forthwith secured Denver Academy building, returned to Kentucky, sold the property to Dr. R. Ryland, formerly of Richmond, Va., left Kentucky for Denver July 3, and on the 2d of September, 1877, opened a school for males and females, under the title of Denver Collegiate Institute, which was afterward changed to Brinker Collegiate Institute. The first session opened with twenty three pupils and one boarder, but the school has grown steadily and enters its third session with a matriculate list of over 100, and the boarding department nearly full, numbering thirty on the Ist of November (see sketch of Brinker Collegiate Institute).

Mr. and Mrs. Brinker have eleven children : Joseph Brinker, Jr., born July 15, 1856, in Madi- son County, Ky .; Waller C. Brinker, February 23, 1858, in Madison County, Ky .; William O. Brinker, December 5, 1859, at Newcastle, Ky .; Mattie Lafon Brinker, born September 14, 1861, at Newcastle, Ky., died March 24, 1865, at New- castle, Ky .; Callie C. Brinker, born November 24, 1863, at Newcastle, Ky .; Lizzie Brinker, Jr., October 27, 1866, at Neweastle, Ky .; Mary C. Brinker, September 1, 1868, at Newcastle, Ky .; Nathaniel Lafon Brinker, March 8, 1871, at New- castle, Ky .; Major Brinker, Jr., May 20, 1873, at

Newcastle, Ky .; Tillitha C. Brinker, October 21, 1875, at Newcastle, Ky .; Isaac E. Brinker, Janu- ary 30, 1879, at Denver, Colo.

Joseph, Waller and William graduated at Henry Male and Female College, and have been teaching variously from three to six years. The former, on account of failing health, left the schoolroom in January last, and is now engaged in mercantile business in Leadville. The other two have pro- fessorships in Brinker Collegiate Institute, and are assisting their parents in the management of the institution. Callie Brinker, now sixteen, is well advanced in her studies and quite well accom- plished in music, painting and drawing. She and her sister Lillie have excellent voices, and are highly endowed with their mother's musical talent. The younger children are growing up as did the older ones, under the kind but firm discipline of their parents, into useful and respected men and women. The family, as a whole, is a most inter- esting one. Their home is one of the social cen- ters of Denver, where their soirees attract delighted companies month after month. The patronage bestowed upon their school is only a just indorse- ment of a good school and experienced teachers. The Brinker home is a charming one for young persons of both sexes. It is a home rather than a boarding-house. We congratulate Denver upon the good fortune by which it has become the home of Prof. Brinker and his family, and the family upon the success of the Institute which they are so securely founding here in the "City of the Plains."

JED. H. BASCOM.

Jed. H. Bascom, Vice President of the High- land Chief Consolidated Mining Company, was born in Milton, Vt., August 23, 1843, and lived at home on his father's farm until he was twenty-one years of age, when he emigrated to Iowa, and located in a small town on the Missis- sippi River. After spending two years there he removed to Chicago, and from that time until 1872, he resided in different parts of the State of Illinois. He was married in Carrollton, Ill., Octo-

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ber 9, 1872, and the same year, hearing of the rich mining fields of Colorado, determined to reach the country and settle for life. Upon arriving in Den- ver, he started in the men's furnishing goods busi- ness, and the manufacture of shirts and under- clothing, gradually adding to his business until to-day it is one of the most popular establishments of its kind in the West, employing over fifty men and women. He continued business until the fall of 1879, when he sold out to John Sinclair & Co., and has since devoted his entire attention to min- ing, having been previously engaged more or less in the mining business in the San Juan country, until the Leadville great excitement broke out, at which place Mr. Bascom was one of the first, and while the snow was very deep made several loca- tions which now constitute a part of the property of the Highland Chief Consolidated Mining Com- pany, and one of the largest bonanzas of the car- bonate camp. He is also interested largely in mining property in the Mount Sneffles District, Ouray County, and in the Independent Mining Company, of Leadville.

CALEB S. BURDSAL, M. D.

The life and services of Dr. Burdsal are so well known and appreciated by the citizens of Denver, that it is unnecessary to present in this volume other than a brief allusion to the events and incidents of his career. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 23, 1808, his youth was devoted to acquiring a knowledge of pharmacy, which occupation he followed suc- cessfully for many years in his native town, grad- ually increasing his business until he became the leading wholesale druggist of Cincinnati. Dur- ing this time, his fellow-citizens recognized his character and ability as a business man by several times electing him to the City Council, of which body he filled successively the offices of Vice President and President.

Having disposed of his large mercantile inter- ests he removed to Chicago, where he remained until 1859; when, yielding to the excitement which the discovery of gold in Colorado bad pro-

duced, he followed the stream of emigration then flowing toward Pike's Peak, arriving in Denver the 18th of May, 1859. The following summer was spent in prospecting and mining, near the present sites of Golden and Black Hawk ; and such was the happy effect produced both by the climate and promising outlook for gold, that he determined to make Colorado his future home, and with that object in view returned to Chicago for his family, and in the following spring brought them to Colo- rado. The next four years were spent in mining and experimenting in the reduction of ores by desulphurizing and smelting, which, though con- ducted on a small scale, sufficiently demonstrated the feasibility of the process. In 1864, he was ap- pointed surgeon of the Third Colorado Regiment, and in that capacity was present at the memora- ble engagement with the Indians, at Sand Creek. At the conclusion of that campaign, Dr. Burdsal began the practice of his profession in Denver, where he has since resided.

Among the various enterprises he is interested in and with which his name is identified, it is proper to mention the Soda Lakes, near Morrison, discovered and named by him, and from which the manufacture of the different kinds of soda is destined to become an important industry. Dr. Burdsal is now in his seventy-second year, but presents no sign of mental or physical decay, and is still active in the discharge of his professional duties.

JOHN W. BAILEY.

John W. Bailey was born January 3, 1838, in Aurora, Ind., on the Ohio River about thirty miles below Cincinnati, where he received a good common school and academic education, but, at the age of sixteen, his father's death cut off his school privileges, and left him the only sup- port of the family. He went to work, and at eighteen held the positions of railroad, insurance and telegraph agent, and agent of the Adams Express Company, commanding the largest salary of any man in Dearborn County. On becoming of age, he engaged in merchandising and continued

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that until the outbreak of the civil war, when, through the influence of the Adams Express Com- pany, he was appointed to take charge of the army freight line, with his office at Nashville, Tenn. He continued to discharge the duties of this responsible position till failing health eom- pelled him, in 1864, to resign, when, by the advice of his physicians, he went to the Paeifie Coast where he engaged in mining. As agent of the Centenary Silver Mining Company, he built the first quartz-mill in Eastern Nevada. After acting as General Agent of that Company for three years, he resigned and built the second mill in the famous White Pine District. This was the well-known Big Smoky mill, which he ran for three years. Having made a success in mining, he coneluded to abandon the semi-barbarons life which he had led for six years, and accordingly returned " to the States" and engaged in the wholesale tea trade in Chicago, which he conducted sneeessfully and profitably for a year and a half. His health again failing, he was obliged to again seek the in- vigorating elimate of the mountains, and in the fall of 1873, removed to Colorado where he has sinee been a permanent resident. Having a taste for mining, he naturally drifted baek into his old business. Going to the Black Hills, he built the built the first quartz-mill on the famous gold belt, where there are now fifty-two mills producing their millions of dollars annually. There his usual good fortune attended him, his acenmula- tions amounting to a handsome sum, and his pres- ent interests there yielding him the comfortable ineome of several thousand dollars per month. His next sneeess was at Silver Cliff, Colo., where he was also a pioneer, buying the first mine and building the first house, about which has sprung up a town of three thousand inhabitants. He is one of the principal owners in the company now engaged in erecting the first reduction works there, probably the largest and most complete stamp mill in the whole Western country. In the spring of 1879, he organized the Silver Cliff Mining Company, of which James R. Keene, of New York, is the

President, and embracing such men as Senator Jones, of Nevada, Gen. Gashwiler, of San Fran- eiseo, and James H. Banker and one of the Loril- lards, of New York. The Company own two mines, the Silver Cliff and the Raeine Boy, which are among the richest mines in the State, the latter having already opened a 125-foot vein of free milling ore of an average value of 50 ounces to the ton. The amount of ore in sight is variously estimated at from $10,000,000 to $16,000,000, the former being the estimate of a New York Sun correspondent and the latter of the correspondent of the Daily Graphic.

Mr. Bailey is also largely interested in mines in the San Juan country, Leadville, Gilpin and Boul- der Counties, Colo., and in California, Nevada and Arizona. He considers his interest in the Black Hills the most valuable; he being a part owner of two large mills, of eighty and one hundred and twenty stamps respectively, at the larger of which is a sufficient amount of free gold ore in sight to run it for twenty years. Mr. Bailey has never made a mistake in mining, a re- sult which is dne to his long experience and ex- cellent judgment, and to the fact that he never invests in a mine without first seeing it. During the summer of 1879, in company with Senator Jones, of Nevada, he made the tour of the San Juan country, where they purchased no less than eight very valuable mines. He has always declined being an officer of any of the various companies in which he is interested, although he takes an active part in their management, and the benefit of his praetieal experience and sound judgment is sought in all matters of importance relative thereto. Mr. Bailey is not one who accumulates wealth to hoard it, but being a man of cultivated tastes, he spends his money freely in supporting a style of living proportionate to his means. He has recently erected on the bluff, known as Capitol Hill in Denver, probably the finest residence in the State, with spaeions grounds and adorned with the varions artieles of rertu which a refined taste can suggest and unlimited wealth supply. But it is not for

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himself alone that he expends his means. All measures for the improvement and elevation of society find in him a generous and hearty support- er. He built the first church and taught the first Sunday school in Eastern Nevada, and, in every place where he has resided or where he has inter- ests, are churches and schools which owe their cx- istence and prosperity to his liberal patronage. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since the age of fourteen, and a Steward and Trustee for many years. Although much of his life has been passed amid the scenes of the frontier and the influences and surroundings of mining camps, his example of strict sobriety, unswerving morality and Christian dignity, has been most con- spicuous, and has produced a salutary effect upon every community of which he formed a part. He is the Vice President of the Colorado University, an institution recently established in Denver by the liberality of several prominent citizens, which is conducted by the Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and starts off under the most favorable auspices. Owing to the illness of members of his family, Mr. Bailey will proba- bly be obliged to discontinue his citizenship in Colorado, but will continue, as heretofore, thorough- ly identified with the interests of the State and will ever be held in the highest esteem by its citizens.

HON. HUGH BUTLER.

Mr. Butler is known as one of the leading attor- neys and prominent representative men of Colorado. This distinction and prominence are the results of his own perseverance, coupled with the ever com- mendable traits of character, strict integrity, good judgment and a high sense of duty and honor. He was born May 31, 1840, ncar Airdrie, Lan- arkshire, Scotland, and received an academic edu- cation. He came to the United States in 1853, with his parents, who settled at Hawsville, IIan- cock Co., Ky. In the spring of 1857, he removed to Lewistown, Ill., and for the three succeeding winters followed teaching in the public schools. In the mean time, he had resolved to study law, and

for that purpose entered an office in the summer of 1859, and was admitted to the har in February, 1862. He then went to Chicago, and began the practice of his profession, continuing until the fall of 1863, when he came to Colorado, and located at Central City. For a short time, he engaged in mining, after which he returned to the practice of his profession, and continued in Central until the spring of 1874, when he decided to remove to Denver, where he has since been in the active practice of his profession.

In the fall of 1864, he was elected to fill an unexpired term in the office of Prosecuting Attor- ney for Gilpin County, and in the fall of 1865 he was re-elected for a full term, but resigned the office in August, 1866. In the fall of 1867, he was elected to represent Gilpin County in the Ter- ritorial Council, and served in the sessions of 1868 and 1870. In 1871, he was elected Mayor of Central City, and in 1873 was again elected a member of the Territorial Council, rendering effi- cient service in the session of 1874.

In 1876, he was appointed Chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee of Colorado, in which capacity he rendered good service to his party. Upon the whole, it may be said of Mr. Butler, that in the State he is a good citizen, in society he is social, and among men he is gencrous and just. In his profession he ranks high, is a diligent and careful pleader, and among the best advocates in the State. He has a tall, command- ing figure, of casy address, and in his speech he retains the pleasing accent of the Scottish dialect, sufficient only to impart to it an agreeable cadence.

ISAAC BRINKER.

Among the substantial business men who came to Colorado at the close of the late civil war, and have devoted their best efforts to the building-up of the wholesale business of Den- ver, is Mr. Isaac Brinker, who came from Mis- souri in 1866, and opened business as a whole- sale and retail grocer, on Fifteenth street, after- ward removing to the corner of Fifteenth and

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Blake, and finally moving to his present location on Blake street, about ten years ago. Beginning business in a moderate way, the progress of the house has been steadily upward, each succeeding year showing a greater volume of business than the preceding one, until he does a business ap- proaching $1,000,000 per annum, and extend- ing throughout Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico. He has repeatedly increased his facili- ties and accommodations, occupying two large stores on Blake street, which are filled from garret to cellar with a complete line of groceries of all kinds, including a large stock of California case goods, in which they have a large trade. Besides, he has two large warehouses in the city constantly full, and yet finds his room insufficient to meet the demands of his constantly increasing trade. Mr. Brinker was born in Frederick County, Va., December 7, 1816. At the age of fourteen, he entered a store, and during the six years that followed he was engaged as clerk in as many dif- ferent stores, that he might obtain a knowledge of the various lines of trade. In 1836, he removed to St. Louis, and was engaged in wholesale houses in that city up to 1844. He then settled in Brunswick, Mo., and began business for himself, continuing until the outbreak of the war, when he entered the Confederate service, and served during the war as an officer on the staff of Gen. Price, with the rank of Major. In 1866, he came to Denver, as above stated, and has devoted his en- tire attention to his business, and finding no time, if he had the inclination, to engage in outside matters, either in politics, railroading, banking, stock-growing or mining.

JOSEPH W. BOWLES.

Among the leading citizens of that portion of the Platte Valley of which the beautiful little village of Littleton is the center, is Joseph W. Bowles. Born in Rockford, N. C., July 17, 1836, he was taken when quite young by his parents to Johnson County, Ind., and in the fall of 1847, to Keokuk County, Iowa. In 1848, the family removed to Marshall

County in the same State, when that portion of Iowa was a wilderness, the total population of Marshall County not exceeding a dozen families. Mr. Bowles lived on the farm which he helped to improve in that county until March, 1858, when he went to Riley County, Kan., where he cast his first vote for the Free-State Constitution that fall. The next spring, he crossed the Plains with cattle- teams, being thirty-six days on the road from Fort Riley to Denver, where he arrived May 25, 1859. Like most of the pioneers of '59, he came seeking for gold, and his first move was to prospect through the mountains, where he encountered hardships unusual even in those early days of pri- vation-going three days without food except such as the wild berries of the mountain regions afforded. That fall, he located on Quartz Hill in the Nevada mining district, where he carried on mining for three years, running a mine on the extension of the Burroughs lode. While there, he was elected and served two terms as Sheriff for the mining district of Nevada, under the miners' organization. In the fall of 1862, he purchased a ranche on the Platte ten miles above Denver, near the present village of Littleton, where he now resides. He is one of the most successful of Col- orado's farmers, and for the past eleven years has been engaged in stock-raising on the Republican River. Mr. Bowles has served two terms of three years each as County Commissioner of Arapahoe County. He was married in Denver, December 16, 1867, to Miss Cynthia R. Miller. Of four children, there are now living Charles W., Edward V. and Josie.

JAMES BATES.

James Bates was born in Toronto, Canada, July 24, 1828. His father was a leading business man of Toronto, and organized and ran the first stage line through Canada. Mr. Bates remained with his father, assisting him in various capacities, until 1860, when he started westward, arriving in Colorado in July, 1861. He first tried mining and prospecting for a few years, and then started a woodyard in Denver, which he managed three

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years, making considerable money. From Denver he went to Cheyenne, where he was engaged in business twelve years, after which he returned to Denver, which place he has since made his home. He is an occasional newspaper contributor, and his spicy, satirical writings are well known to the citi- zens of Denver and vicinity.

RICHARD G. BUCKINGHAM, M. D.

Dr. Richard G. Buckingham was born in Troy, N. Y., September 14, 1816, being a son of Gideon and Maria (Jutau) Buckingham, of that city, and a grandson of Capt. Florence Crowley, of the Revolutionary army. He was ed- ucated at the Troy High School, and the Rensse- laer Institute, now the Polytechnic Institute, in his native city. He began the study of medicine under Dr. Thomas W. Blatchford, of Troy, and, in 1834, took his first medical course at Berkshire Medical College, in Pittsfield, Mass., from which institution he graduated and received his degree of Doctor of Medicine in the fall of 1836, having, in the mean time, pursued one course in the Jeffer- son Medical College, of Philadelphia. After grad- uating, he spent one winter in the old Broadway Hospital, in New York. Removing South, he be- gan practice in Montevallo, Shelby Co., Ala., where he continued until 1841. He then removed to St. Louis, where he had charge of the Marine Hospital. Nearly two years later, he located in Lexington, Mo., and there practiced his profession for twenty-one years. He, with a few friends, es- tablished, in 1850, the first female school in the place, and for ten years he was Secretary of the Board of Trustees. This school is now the Bap- tist Female College. In 1863, he crossed the Plains to Denver, where he has remained ever since, enjoying a large and lucrative practice. He was one of the organizers and President of the Denver Medical Association, which he represented in the meeting of the American Medical Associa- tion at San Francisco, Cal., in 1871. During his early professional life, he was a frequent con- tributor to the current medical literature of the

day. In 1874, he was elected a member of the Territorial Council, and was an influential member of that body. On the passage of the bill for the education of deaf mutes, Dr. Buckingham, to whose efforts its passage was largely due, became a Trustee of the Deaf Mute Institute, and was elected President of the Board, and is now serv- ing the sixth year in that capacity. To him, more than any other man in the State, the Institute for the Education of the Mute and Blind, at Colo- rado Springs, owes its existence and present pros- perity.

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History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado, Part 41

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn; Vickers, W. B. (William B.), 1838- Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 844

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn; Vickers, W. B. (William B.), 1838-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 844